My husband and I are hoping to purchase a 2 bedroom apartment in West Croydon with a mortgage. We wish to retain our West Croydon lawyer, however the bank advise he's not on their "panel". We have to appoint one of the bank panel firms or retain our West Croydon lawyer as well as pay for one of their panel lawyers to act for them. This feels very unfair; are we not able to insist that the lender use our West Croydon conveyancing practitioner ?
No, not really. The mortgage offered to you is subject to its terms and conditions, one of which will be that lawyers will on the lender’s conveyancing panel. Until recently, most lenders had large numbers of law firms on their panels: a borrower could choose one for themselves, as long as it was on the lender's panel. The lender would then simply instruct the borrower's lawyers to act for the lender, too. You can use your lender's panel lawyers or you could borrow from another lender which does not restrict your choice. Another option that might be available is for your West Croydon conveyancing lawyer to apply to be on the conveyancing panel.
I am hoping to complete my purchase in West Croydon next Friday. My lawyer now wants me to supply her with evidence of content and building insurance for the property as as she informs me that she is duty bound to validate that it is in order for the mortgage company. What does the insurance need to cover?
All property lawyers on acting for mortgage companies would need to check that the following risks are covered fire; lightning; aircraft; explosion; earthquake; storm; flood; escape of water or oil; riot; malicious damage; theft or attempted theft; falling trees and branches and aerials; subsidence; heave;landslip;collision;accidental damage to underground services;professional fees, demolition and site clearance costs; and public liability to anyone else. There are some other issues such as the level of excess that are set out in a lender’s Part 2 requirements. These obligations are not limited to conveyancing in West Croydon.
Do I need to take out insurance to cover chancel repairs when purchasing a property in West Croydon?
Unless a prior purchase of the house took place after 12 October 2013 you could expect lawyers carrying out conveyancing in West Croydon to continue to recommend a chancel search and or insurance against a claim.
I am buying a new build house in West Croydon with a loan from Santander. The builders would not reduce the price so I negotiated five thousand pounds worth of additionals instead. The house builders rep advised me not inform my conveyancer about the deal as it would impact my mortgage with Santander. Do I keep my lawyer in the dark?.
All lenders require a Disclosure of Incentives Form from the builder of any new build, converted or renovated property, It is available online from the Lenders’ Handbook page on the CML website. CML form is completed and handed to the lender's surveyor when the inspection is done.
Lenders have different policies on incentives. Some accept none at all, cash or physical, while others will accept cash incentives up to 5%.
Hard to understand why the representative of a builder would be suggesting you withold information from a solicitor when all this will be clearly visible on forms the builder has to supply to its solicitor, the buyer's solicitor and the surveyor.
Should I be suspicious about brokers that I am dealing with are encouraging me to use an online conveyancing firm as opposed to a local West Croydon conveyancing firm?
As is the case with lots of professional services, often input from relatives can be extremely useful or valuable. Nevertheless there are lots of players in a conveyancing deal; estate agents, financial adviser and lenders may recommend lawyers to choose. Sometimes these solicitors might be known to one of the organisations as experts in their field, but sometimes there may be a financial incentive behind the recommendation. You have the discretion to select your own conveyancer. Don't forget that the majority of mortgage providers specify a panel list of lawyers you have to use for the mortgage aspect of your conveyancing.
Your search tool is useful but there are many lawyers listed near West Croydon being on the bank conveyancing panel. Can you recommend a specific firm on the lender approved panel?
We do not recommend specific West Croydon firms as the right West Croydon conveyancing firm for you depends on where your priorities lie. For example you may require a local firm with West Croydon knowledge or you might be looking for the low cost conveyancing. Before you appoint your lawyer we advise you to speak to two or three of the the firms listed to gain comfort as to which one is right for you..